Fabric designer John Robshaw shares his love of decorative sheets, bold colors, and found objects from the Middle East and Asia.

YOUR BEDROOM LOOKS LIKE SOMETHING OUT OF A PAUL BOWLES NOVEL — MORE TANGIER THAN RURAL CONNECTICUT.

I'm a big fan of his. The Sheltering Sky is one of my favorite books. I also love his cut-to-the-bone travel stories. His characters drift around Morocco, getting in trouble.

YOU TRAVEL SO MUCH IN ASIA AND THE MIDDLE EAST. DO YOU FEEL LIKE ONE OF HIS CHARACTERS?

Well, I don't have the drug or alcohol addictions. And I like to stay in one place for a while and get involved. I lived in India and Asia for a year. I've hung around in teahouses in Syria, wasting time and writing postcards. I would love to live in Morocco if I could run my business from there.

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IS THAT WHY YOU PACKED SO MUCH INTO THIS ROOM?

I like to have references and objects that are memories of my travels, to create a sense of the history of different cultures.

WHERE DID YOU GET YOUR WANDERLUST?

In high school, I met this German kid who invited me to travel around Europe for a summer in a Volkswagen. I was a 16-year-old from Buffalo — I don't remember why my parents let me go — but visiting France and Italy made a big impression on me. I spent my junior year of college in Rome, and we'd go over to Greece and Istanbul, which made me aware of the East and got me interested in Persian design and architecture.

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WHAT PLACE IS FIRING YOUR IMAGINATION NOW?

Aleppo, in Syria, is fantastic because of all the old Moorish houses. A lot of French artists and writers are going there — it's, like, the new Morocco.

A FRIEND WHO SLEEPS ON YOUR SHEETS CONSIDERS THEM A LUXURIOUS VERSION OF BATIK INDIAN BEDSPREADS FROM THE 1970S.

We all grew up with fun, cheap Indian textiles. What I do is another take on that history. We do it properly, use the old techniques and hand-embroidery. Our textiles pass through many pairs of hands, so there's lots of good energy in them.

HOW DID YOU KEEP THIS ROOM FROM BEING TOO HIPPIE-DIPPY?

Well, it is kind of a semi-hippie crash pad. You can call it that, and I wouldn't be insulted. I have friends who think I'm 'too ethnic.'

THE WHITE MATELASSE BLANKET ISN'T ETHNIC.

It's the plainest thing we make. I'm trying to cut our prints with some basic solid colors. Some people don't like to mix things as crazily as we do.